Conventionally, as disclosed in PATENT DOCUMENT 1, for example, an aseptic manipulation system is partitioned into an aseptic manipulation chamber, the inside of which is kept in an aseptic condition, and a pass box connected to the aseptic manipulation chamber. A communication portion formed between the aseptic manipulation chamber and the pass box, and an inlet portion provided in an outer wall of the pass box, can be hermetically closed by an open-close member, respectively. Microbes adhering to a surface of an object carried into the aseptic manipulation chamber are removed therefrom by decontamination gas (i.e., decontamination vapor) in the pass box. After that, the inside of the pass box is subjected to aeration, so that decontaminants remaining on the object and an inner wall of the pass box are removed, and the pass box and the aseptic manipulation chamber are then in communication with each other, and the object is transferred into the aseptic manipulation chamber.
According to the above-described conventional aseptic manipulation system, the inside of the pass box is filled with decontamination gas to remove microbes, so that not only the object but also the inner walls of the pass box, which has been opened to the external environment for introducing the object, are sterilized, and the pass box is then in communication with the aseptic manipulation chamber while keeping the sterilized condition. Therefore, the aseptic manipulation chamber and the pass box are maintained in a grade D cleanliness environment of air, which is a slightly higher cleanliness grade than the general environment.
PATENT DOCUMENT 1: Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2010-51351